Gaming machines currently exist with bonus schemes in which the player has one or more opportunities to choose a particular selection or symbol from a group of symbols. When a player chooses a symbol, the bonus scheme will either award the player with a bonus value or terminate the bonus round. The outcome depends upon the particular symbol selected by the player.
When the player selects a symbol which awards a bonus value, the player receives bonus credits, and the player has another chance to select another symbol. Each time the player selects a symbol which awards a bonus value, the bonus scheme typically displays a message for the player to continue. This message means that the bonus round continues and the player may now choose another symbol. The player then selects another symbol, and this process continues until the player selects a bonus round terminator which terminates the bonus round. European Patent Application No. EP 0 945 837 A2 filed on Mar. 18, 1999 and assigned on its face to WMS Gaming, Inc. discloses a bonus scheme generally of this type.
To increase player enjoyment and excitement, it is desirable to provide players with new bonus schemes where the players have multiple opportunities to receive winning payouts. In particular, it is desirable to incorporate the excitement of matching games, such as the traditional “go fish” and “concentration” card games into bonus schemes. As players select certain items out of a large array of items, players feel a heightened experience of anticipation and excitement which they do not experience with many currently existing bonus schemes.